The Life Stoked Family Is Growing!

I’m excited to share some big news with you today: The Life Stoked family is growing! That’s right, Cameron and I are expecting our first child this summer (it’s a boy) and we couldn’t be more stoked!

Although he’s still about a month away from joining us officially, it’s been a big adjustment already preparing for his arrival.

I’ve had a lot of time over the past few months to reflect on how my this momentous milestone will effect my life.

Somewhere along the way I think we’ve all been conditioned somewhat to believe that having kids basically ends your own pursuits. People say things like, “Enjoy it while you can,” or “Better do that now while you can.”

I won’t lie, I’ve thought that myself too. I’d better try to start a business while I can. It won’t be feasible to take that kind of risk once I have kids, and a mortgage. I’d better enjoy chasing dreams while I can.

And for me at least, “while I can” is just about over.

Because now things will mostly be about the kids. They will be the one chasing opportunities. They will need all the support we can muster as parents to get them there. They will be running down dreams (you know, “while they can”).

And us, the parents? Well, we had our shot. Those pursuits are a luxury for people without the responsibility of kids. It’s time to be a grown up. It’s time to settle down.

Or is it?

I’ve watched successful dream-chasers like Jon Acuff and Pat Flynn who are both crushing it. They each have wives. They each have kids. They each have a mortgage. And they are knocking it out of the park!

I’m sure their kids need all the same dedication and parenting that any other kid needs, but that isn’t stopping them from doing big things.

So what’s can I learn from this?

My friend Dallon recently reached a huge milestone in his own pursuit of a Life Stoked. Dallon quit his job. He quit is job that was sucking the life out of him every single day. He quit his job to work full time on a dream business he’s built from the ground up.

He had it all planned out, and just as he was putting the last brick into place something happened that changed everything. His boy was diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes.

How’s that for a responsibility?! How could you quit a corporate job with corporate benefits when your kid depends on that health care so strongly? It seems like “while you can” was up for Dallon.

But Dallon saw things differently. He asked himself what he’d be teaching his boy if he remained enslaved in a life-sucking job because he felt trapped? With his dream of working full time on a profitable business within reach, what would it say if he threw in the towel.

My new responsibility

What I’m trying to say is this: The world might tell me that my own life and my own goals are about to take a back seat to my kid, but it’s not true. In fact, my biggest responsibility as a husband, and now as a dad, is to teach my boy how to conquer his dreams and achieve his goals.

And that doesn’t quit when circumstances get a little more difficult. And it doesn’t change when resources are more limited.

And while that’s something that I’ve always tried to live out in my own life, I’m about to have one very important observer to teach one of life’s most important lessons.

A great example

Cameron showed me an awesome illustration of this principle at work. In this clip from So You Think You Can Dance, a mother of three is daring to achieve something she’s always dreamed of (getting on the show). She and her family undoubtedly endured a complicated schedule and extra efforts to accommodate this pursuit.

And what better example could you set for your family than to dedicate yourself to something worth achieving and going after it with everything you’ve got. Watch this video to see what I mean.

Want to learn more about how I’m building a Life Stoked every day? Sign up for my email list below! Special gift coming veeeeeery soon!

Congratulations to you and your wife Deacon! Being a parent will change your life forever, but not in a bad way. It has motivated me to conquer my dreams and achieve my goals and I am sure it will for you too.

Thanks Benny! Yea I have no idea how the sleep thing will go (or anything else for that matter). One thing I’m looking forward to is how much more productive I’ll have to learn to become! I’m always up for a challenge!